“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). We do not live in a perfect world. When Jesus asked us to love one another, He was asking us to help make this world a better place. Jesus overcame the things of this world, and loved us. Jesus came into the world, walked through the things of this world, and overcame the world. When He asked us to love one another, He said as I have loved you. As we are walking through this worlds stuff (tribulations), we are to love one another. Be of good cheer (full of joy)!

As Christians we hear a lot about the will of God, as in “… if we ask anything according to His will He hears us” (1 John 5:14b). But what does the “will of God” mean – what is it? Will, as used in that verse, is determination and put into action it is choice. In the gospel of John we read, “If anyone wills to do His will” (John 7:17a). The first “will” in that verse is what the noun/pronoun is getting ready to do (preparing to do / desires to do). The second “will” is the same as in 1 John 5:14. The “will of God” is what God is determined to do or the choice God has made.

What is being said in 1 John 5:14, “… if we ask anything according to His will He hears us”? You can read that to say, if we know His will and only ask out of that knowing then He will hear us. Look at it another way. If we ask anything, according to His will He hears us; or He hears us because He is determined or makes a choice to hear us. In last reading it is through our faith in Him that we know He is determined to hear us. “And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:15). Out of our faith in Him we know He hears us, because of what God has done. To God be all the glory.

When we embrace the knowledge of good and evil, we turn away from the face of God. When we believe we are worthy because of what we know, we separate from one another. A relationship with God is ever growing and continually learning, but mostly it is spending time with God. To relate, we need to both speak and listen. It is the same in our relationship with one another. The relationship is not built from our knowing, but in our willingness to share (to both give and receive). To put it another way, a relationship is giving and receiving through and guided by love. It is not about our knowing as much as it is about our willingness.

It takes faith and a willingness to walk in love to maintain a relationship. Love isn’t based on what I know about you; love is based on what I am willing to do regardless of what I know about you. Faith is not based on what I know, but what I believe is possible. Jesus died for us to help us reach our potential (what is possible). Jesus died for us knowing who we were/are, but the knowing did not stop Him from loving us. When we turn to love, we turn towards the face of God. God is love. Shouldn’t we love one another.

© 2012, Tim D. Coulter Sr.